Dispersion into Severe Coastal Complex Terrain

Abstract

A field study of dispersion using tracer gases from offshore sources into severe coastal complex terrain was conducted in central California. Data were collected on dispersion, surface concentrations trajectories, and stability. An examination of the data has shown that a zone of stagnation extends well offshore causing unusual plume behaviors including evidence of bimodal concentration distributions in the horizontal. A conceptual model based on a Gaussian model is formulated to describe the observed behavior and is compared to actual surface tracer PS concentrations in the coastal terrain.